Fatima.Mernessi_The-Forgotten-Queens-of-Islam-EN

The Little Queens of Sheba 155
for the political decree by which a reigning sovereign designates a
successor. The meaning of 'testament' is so obvious in the word 'ahd
that in Arabic it is used to designate the Old and New Testaments of
the Bible (al-'ahd al-'atiq and al-'ahd al-jadid). 58
In any case, according to al-'Amri, whatever al-Mukarram's 'ahd
had been, 'Arwa effectively exercised mulk (earthly power) without
interruption from the time of the illness of al-Mukarram in 473 until
her death in 530. This means that she ruled for practically half a
century despite the opposition of the caliph. 59 But she had to come
to terms with the caliph. Some say that al-Mustansir ordered 'Arwa
to marry Saba, and she carried out the order and submissively
married him. He is supposed to have confronted her with a fait
accompli by sending her a letter saying: 'I give you in marriage to
Amir of Amirs Saba.' 60 Others say that Saba took the initiative and
proposed marriage to 'Arwa five months after the death of her
husband. 61 She is supposed to have accepted this demand, although
others say that she rejected it, and that the rejection was badly
received by Saba; wounded in his amour prop re, he is supposed to
have besieged 'Arwa in her fortress at Jabala. 62 The proponents of
this hypothesis say that, in order to make her relent, he used her
brother, Ibn Amir, to reason with her and bring her to change her
mind and accept Saba as her husband. 'Arwa's brother is supposed
to have told her that it was Caliph al-Mustansir in person who
desired her marriage with the da'i, and he, the caliph, would pay
an astronomical dowry of 10,000 dinars (pieces of gold) and 50,000
other gifts in order to regularize this succession, which he was
finding very annoying. 63
Apparently these arguments and pressures induced 'Arwa to yield
and accept Saba as her husband. The temptation to enrich herself
was probably the least deciding factor. She was already very rich,
being the guardian of the dynasty's treasures. One of the reasons
she had decided to move her capital from San'a to Jabala was to
put these treasures in a secure place. Some say that the marriage
was never consummated; others assert the contrary: the marriage
was consummated but without offspring. 64
The proponents of the unconsummated marriage theory recount
in detail the story of an eventful wedding night. According to them,
after the signing of the marriage contract, Saba left the fort of
Ashiakh were he was living to go to Jabala where his bride lived.
He entered the Dar al-'Izz Palace that al-Mukarram had built for
her and was shown to the room where his wife was to join him.
'Arwa came, but he did not recognize her, because she was dressed